High turnover at DFO threatens environmental reviews: records

Heavy workloads and high turnover at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could jeopardize the federal government's ability to protect Canadians from the dangerous impacts of c, say internal government records obtained by Postmedia News.

Photograph by: Mark Ralston
, AFP/Getty Images

OTTAWA - Heavy workloads and high turnover at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could jeopardize the federal government's ability to protect Canadians from the dangerous impacts of industrial projects, say internal government records obtained by Postmedia News.

The warnings were made before the federal government started a series of multi-million-dollar budget cuts to scientific research and monitoring programs across several departments.

The internal records, released under access to information laws, suggested scientists and policy experts at the fisheries department were already overworked in efforts to assess the environmental impacts of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia.

"Continuity of DFO team members throughout the above process is critical to providing clear, consistent, and defensible advice, positions, and permits," said an internal government management plan drafted in March 2010 at the fisheries department.

The Harper government is expected to adopt legislation this week that rewrites Canadian environmental laws.

The changes include removing existing protections that prohibit pollution or harm to fish habitat, and replacing it with new provisions that would prevent "serious harm" to specific types of fisheries considered to be of commercial, recreational or aboriginal value.

Other proposed changes would eliminate thousands of environmental assessments for new projects, weaken protections for species at risk and limit public participation in environmental reviews of industrial projects.

At the same time, the government confirmed on Wednesday it would eliminate more than 100 jobs in the fisheries department, including a substantial reduction in habitat officers.

Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield told the Union of Environment Workers president Todd Panas in a June 14 letter that some of the changes to laws are necessary since the existing legislation offers "few tools to authorize pollution other than by detailed regulations." He also said the new regime would "provide flexibility and establish new tools to authorize deposits of deleterious substances."

Ashfield has declined a request to explain his remarks, referring questions to his department, which later referred the questions to Environment Canada, where a spokesman was not immediately able to provide a comment.

The internal government records indicated the fisheries department was already facing "staffing" problems, and "high turnover" in September 2010.

"Timely advice from science requires significant advance planning," said an internal presentation prepared for fisheries department staff working on the environmental assessment of Enbridge pipeline.

The records also indicated the department anticipated a "high workload" for its scientists, engineers and other staff during a regulatory phase of the Enbridge project prior to construction.

One senior scientist suggested in internal correspondence a complete environmental review of the project would be difficult to complete based on the federal government's timelines.

"Individual stream crossing review is quite time and energy intensive, and unfortunately, is limited to snow-free times of year,' wrote John Summers, senior habitat biologist, in email sent to other fisheries department colleagues on Jan 23, 2011.

"I'll be going great-guns again after snowmelt, but there will definitely be additional back-and-forth discussions with the proponent as we work to minimize impacts etc. I'm not sure yet how this will translate into effects on the MPMO (federal Major Projects Management Office) timelines, but will do my best to adhere to them."

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Heavy workloads and high turnover at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could jeopardize the federal government's ability to protect Canadians from the dangerous impacts of c, say internal government records obtained by Postmedia News.

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